Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-12-11
THE AMERICAN GIRL.
Caricatures Drawn by Ger !.
tain NOveliSts.
NOT WHAT THEY PAINT HER.
A Wholesome Product of q Healthy
Age, an active Race and an
Electric China e.

Electric China e.
l write in defense of the girl-thc
typical, positive, aggressive American
girl. For one, l hope we shall never
be able to reach to the negative sup
pressed type of womanhood. over
half the worlds women are to-day
peeping through eyelet-holes at the
world, or hid in harems, the property
OF the other sex. 1t was a natural
social evolution, that, giving liberty
OF higher sort to man, gave it also
to woman. Twenty-Five years ago it
was popular to make sport Of the STAN
ton. Livermore and Anthony leaders
Of woman's rights; we have lived to
see revolution. Educational institu-
tons have been readjusted to give not
only privileges but fame to woman.
In commercial circles women are
everywhe active, and as clerks and
tDOOk hCCPClo 6tdIld Oll u par Will ulCns
The type of woman, meanwhile, has
been steadily transformed. 1t does
not shock us to-day to see women
physicians, nor to hear women plead
as lawyers. But to caricature the
American girl is yet the stock in trade
of class of no.elists that has as
sumed to shape and control our so,
cial development. The power of the
novel when it eliminates in sneerat
woman is degradation Of intellect:
T. ese novels have NO just c!a;nss-.&s, Sc
stand as representative Of public rem
timent. They find the echo in the
no low prete ntiousness Of those in
whom vanity takes the place Of value. J;
The Am, rican girl is wholesome
product of healthy age; the alb
normal exceptions are precisely What
must he expected in all cases of hon<
est growth. The intensely expressed
type of woman, on whom lie the se-s
verest burdens of earning living''
"a type which predominated 100
years ago-not only tended to the de-
generacy of women, but to the degen-
eracy of the whole race born of her.
1t has been the work of the last gem
9 alton to relieve woman of her
cranped and fettered position, and
discipline her to a self-reliance and
purity in more public relation. The
demonstration is already befo Us
that woman's character does not de-
pend upon her exclusion. To con-
temn the result of American Ire is to
condemn the cause. Yet the worst
that can be said of our American life
in general is that it il restless or over
active, and while full of sincerity and
honest feeling, is not sufficiently thor
ough and accurate. 1t is quick
witted, rapid-thinking and rapid
achieving method of life. The pro-
duct is men that generalize somewhat
ahead of data, women that act quite
AZ pron,ptlya as they learn, and girls
that admire executive speed rather
than the slow prote. ses of study. In
other words our American girl is pro-
duct Of an active race, III a nervous,
electric climate. She is qui,k-witfed,
fertile in resources and uislikes the
red tape of Iormal customs.
What then? The American girl is
Shifting her natural -phere." She
is crowding young men out of clerk
ships in stores and offices, and is as
sumiug to perform range Of duties
her mother would have shrunk from
hut she does what she undertakes,
and does it we'll. Young women are
found in all sorts of offices, perform
ing admirably the work supposed to
be suited only to boys. o they ap-
pear to les- advantage than when
foiding their hands and waiting for o
catch matrimonial, to enai'l'- them to
fspe life with some hope of tolerable
comfort? The Dung wife me- is her
Joan at yonder corner at O'Clock,
each with a dinner basket in hand,
and homeward they 90 together, chat
ting and laughing over the events of
the day. My friend Judge Nj. has
lost his property in a financia ava
lanche. His family consists of six
gils and one boy. Shall they crowd
into small home and leave The bur
den Of the family on poor Tom? Or
shall they sly ly take IN what sewing
they can get? Or shall they come
down to Washing? Or shall they take
cleiksliips and do what their fine edu-
cation fills them to do? No one can
say Miss Florence is out of place in
t. q office oil large hotel, Miss Mar
garet is in a DIR, go DIS house, while
TWO more are copyists. The Judge
grumhles a little 1T the necessity, but
he hardly conlprehends the change in
popul r sentiment that makes il ac-
ceptable to fashion as well as to duty.
The one question paramount is
whether the chastity of Woman is as
sailed 10y the change in customs. Is
she abb to retain wuManly delicacy
of feeling, as we'll IA refinement of
manners? Ii is difficult to understand
how the notion ever gained wide cre-
dence that woman could be a refining
and saving power in one direction and
not in another. Socially we recognize
her power. Men are expected to con-
form themselves with strict prop iety
to her adherence OF vulgarilies. But
the idea has prevailed that by some
magic this power must depart from
woman when she enters shop, store
or Office. On the contrary, you will
find that she has fully retained her
power TO purify. Offices are no longer
the retreats of the masculine loafers
whose chief joy is to retail Ioul stories
while they indulge in smoking and
profanity 1t is nothing short of
rev olution that is being woi ked. Wo-
mans power is Inherent, and not
mere appendage OF her sphere.
But how about her wolnaIly refine
ment and that certain deli,acy that is
peculiarly womanly? / protest against
the .tat ment. Man has no right to
be less refined, less gentle, less deli
cate in sentiment. than woman. It is
a detestible blrnder that implies
the contrary. He has mo right to read
what is unit for uer-to carry inem-
ory full of foul stuff unfit for her ears.
He has no right to beget children, or
go into nursery of hIs own children,